Stapling machines



Jan. 17, 1961 H. F. FENON 2,968,040

STAPLING MACHINES Filed July 2, 1956 Arrylfi United States 'Paten-t.-

STAPLING MACHINES Henri Felix Fnon, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Societe AGRAF, Vincennes (Seine), France, a corporation of France Filed July 2, 1956, Ser. No. 595,390

Claims priority, application France July 20, 1955 1 Claim. (Cl. 1-3) 'This invention relates to small, so-called pocket, stapling machines which either permit U-shaped staples to lbe driven through several sheets of paper or other material to be joined together, the two branches of each staple being then turned over by an anvil forming part of the stapling machine, or else permitting the two branches of each staple simply to be driven into a walll of any" kind in order to ai'lix a document or other sheet to said wall, `the staple then acting as a tack and the stapling machine as a tackling machine.

'Pocket staplin-g 'machines are already known in which the staples aredriven into the documents to be secured together by a driver which is formed simply by one of the ends of a leaf spring intended through its elasticity tovefect the return of said driver.

An arrangement of the foregoing type requires that the driver shall have play in its slide in order to absorb the transverse displacement of said driver resulting from the lswinging of the spring about a fixed transverse line situated externally of and some distance from the plane of the driver; the latter is accordingly not very accura'tely guided. Moreover, the return of the driver to its u'p-per position is more or less uncertain which may lead to. jamming ofthe stapling machine.

Further, either the spring is made of highly tempered steel, so that the driver has adequate strength, in which case said spring is fragile and liable to break, or elsev the spring is made of semi-hardened steel in order to prolong'its life, and in this case the driver lacks the requisite hardness.

The object of the invetion is to provide a pocket stapling machine improved with -a view to overcoming the disadvantages mentioned above and in which the driver, which is distinct from but freely engaged by its resilient return device, is guided by two pairs of lugs, one in front and the other at the rear, those in front being inte'gral with the guide rail for the staples and those at the rear with retaining means which is secured on said rail and provided with an auxiliary lug projecting forwardly 'through a vertical aperture in the driver which is thus held laterally and the vertical stroke of which is about the. axis X-X on the base B.

i 2,968,040 Patented Jan. 17, 1961V iianges which are integral with the rail and project through holes in the retaining means.

Other features of the invention will be apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings to which the invention is in no wayr limited.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section through an improved stapling machine embodying the invention,

Fig. 2 is a cross-section on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1 of the rocking head of the stapling machine,

Fig. 3 is a cross-section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a partial view, in perspective, of the rocking head, and

Fig. 5 is a broken away end portion of seen from the inside of this cover.

In the illustrated embodiment the stapling machine supplies U-shaped staples A consisting of portions ab, bc and cd (Fig. 2),. lFor this purpose the stapling machine has a base B and a rocking head C mounted on the the cover as base B for pivotal motion about a rear transverse axis X--X (Figs. 1 and 3).

The base B is constituted by a plate 1 stiffened'by. two side anges 2 extending longitudinally of the plate. The plate 1 forms at its front end ananvil 3 provided with a depression 3a whose function is to turn over thei limbs ab and cd of the staple A when the latter is' ejected from the head C and driven through the work previously laid upon said anvil. It is to be noted that if the staple is to be tacked when deposited, the basel B is folded backwards beyond the head C in the known manner.

The head C comprises a part generally designated byl the reference character 7 and forming at the same time a hinged support on the base and a rail guiding the' staples. This rail is of substantially U shape in crossv section with an upper wall 8 and flanges 9 directed down-j wards. By means of these anges the rail 7 is articulated, In addition, at a1 point level with projections 4 'formed on the base B, lthe flanges 9 have a hole 10 (Fig. 1) of a diameter' larger than that of the corresponding projection 4, thus` enabling the head assembly to rock about the axis X---Xv between the raised position shown in Fig. l and a loweredf position in which the rail 7 bears Iagainst the anvil 3 of the base.

It will be noted that the projections `4 have roundedI heads so as to permit their disengagement from the holesV 10 and thus allow the base B to be folded backwardsy in line with the head C for the purpose of loading the machine with staples and for tacking i In the position of engagement of the projections 4 in the holes 10 the head C is held, when at rest, at a dis-y tance from the base B by a torsion spring 11 Vwound helically about the pin 6, one of the branches 12 of lsaid spring bearing against the base B, while the other' branch 13 bears beneath the wall 8 of the rail 7.

Over substantially the front half of the length of the` rail the two flanges 9 of the latter have their edges bent horizontally inwards at 14 in order to act as a support for the staples A which can be introduced into the' rail, after bending the base B backwards and turning the head, C upside down, by engaging them between the straightV unbent rear lportions of the wings of said rail and then mesmo sliding said fasteners forwards. After they have been placed in position in the rail the fasteners are pressed towards the front, in the direction of the arrow f1 (Fig. 1) by the front limb of a U-shaped presser piece 15, urged in the direction of said arrow f1 by a spring 16. The latter is coiled around a rod 17 the forward portion of which is slidable in the presser piece while its rear end is rigid with an abutment plate 18 which bears in the rail 7 against the turns of the spring 11 wound about the pin 6. The front end of the rod 17 is provided with a head which passes freely through an aperture in said front limb of the presser piece 15 but abuts the rear limb of the latter, so that this head allows the piece 15 to abut the transverse front end wall of the rail but retains it on the rod in opposition to the action of the spring 16.

The first staple A1 to be used is in abutment against bent-over front ends or lugs 19 of the anges 9 of the rail 7 which assists in guiding the staple when it is being driven into the work. These bent-over front ends 19 are extended upwardly to form a lug 20 intended, in combination with the internal faces of said bent-over ends 19, to provide a front guide for a driver 21 which drives, in the direction of the arrow f2 (Fig. 1), the staple A1 by bearing on the crown bc of said staple.

The driver 21 isin the form of a frame. It comprises a rectangular window 22 elongated in the vertical direction and is furthermore provided at its upper end with two lateral extensions 23, the purpose of which will be explained hereinafter. g

AtV the rear, the driver 21 is guided by a second pair of lugs 24 provided at the front end of retaining plate 25 which retains the driver 21 in the stapling machine with the aid of a front projection or lug 26, the latter forming an extension o f said vretaining plate and being engaged in the windowv 226i the ldriver. It will Ybe seen that the vertical stroke of the driver is thus limited between theupper position of rest illustrated in the figures of the drawings, and in particular in Fig. 4, 'and in which the lower edge of the window 22 bears against the lug 26, and a depressed position in which the upper transverse edge of the window 22 is, in turn, in abutment with the upper surface of the lug 26.

The plate 25 is held against the upper face of the wall 8 of the rail 7 in the following manner.v In the said plate two transverse windows 27 are formed through ejach of which a ange 28, eut out of the wall 8 of the rail projects upwardly. The vflanges 28 are provided with holes Vthrough whiehlextends the ,lower limbv 29, forming a keeper pin, ofja hairpin spring, the two limbs 29 and 30 of which are connected `by a few spiral turns 31 engaged on a supporting pin 32 carried by two flanges 33 integral with the plater25. v

The upper limb of the spring constitutes the operativel resilient member ofsaid spring. Its lfront 'end is in fact freely engaged in a hole 34 in the driver 21 and tends to return said driver to the upper position of rest illustrated.

The stapling machine is completed by an ornamental pressure-applying member or cover 35 of U-shaped section, through the side walls of 'which towards their rear ends 'the pin 6 passes whileV its centre part is extended in relation to the sides and bent over 'on the one hand at the front, once vertically at 36 (Fig. 1) and a second time horizontally at 437, and on the other hand transversely at 38 to form two earswhich are notched at their uppervpart 39 .in order to. act as lugs or supports for the lateral lugs 23 ofthe driver 21 (Figs. l and 2).

A leaf spring 40 (Figs. 1 and 2) bent into the shape of a Ll bears 4on the one hand, against the wall 8 of the rail 7 and on the other hand against the internal surface of thewintermediate part of the cover 35, lifting the latter to the extreme position illustrated in which the bent-over lug 37 abuts `frombelow upwardly against the lug 26. In this position of rest, the driver 21 raised by the spring 30 thus has its upper edge abutting against the cover.

Finally the cover 35 preferably has its intermediate portion formed with a window 41 in which the spring 40 holds an ornamental plate 42 which may advantageously bear the trademark of the stapling machine.

The stapling machine operates in the customary manner. Thus, held in the open position as shown in Figure l between the thumb of one hand bearing on the cover 35 and the fingers of the same hand folded under the base B, the machine is engaged over the sheets F to be secured together'. Then, bringing the thumb towards the fingers of the hand, the rocking head assembly C is made to pivot about the axis X-X in the direction of the arrow f3, opposing the action of the spring 11, in relation to the base B.

The head C, as a'unit, first approaches the sheets F and then, as soon as the rail 7 bears against said sheets by the bent edges 14 of its side walls and applies them to the anvil 3, by continuing to bring together the thumb and fingers of the hand, the cover 35 is caused to pivot downwardly in relation to the rail 7, the cover carrying with it the driver 21, while the springs 30 and 40 are iiexed. It will be seen that the driver is guided perfectly by the two pairs of lugs 20 and 24, without its vertical descent being hindered by its sliding connection with the spring 30. The driver presses down, in the direction of the arrow f2, the first staple A1, the limbs of which pass through the sheets F and are then turned over in the depression 3a of the anvil 3. 4

As soon as the pressure of the hand is released, the springs 11, 30 and 40 return the parts to the position of rest shown in the drawings.

Reloading of the stapling machine with staples presents no diiculty. The base B having been folded backwards, all that is necessary is to remove the presser piece 15 by grasping the abutment plate 18, which is disengaged from its support against the spring 11, so that the presser piece can be withdrawn rearwardly beyond the bent-over edges 14 of the rail in order to introduce a fresh packet of staples which need only be pushed towards the front in order to be able to return the presser piece into place.

As will be clear, the use of the stapling machine is extremely simple and its operation entirely dependable; it is practically incapable of jamming, since the driver 21is guided perfectly by the pairs of lugs 20 and 24 and by its being held by the two upper lugs 23 between the top of the casing 35 and the notches 39 of its bent-over ears" 38.

Furthermore the spring 30, which is distinct from the driver, may be made of semi-hardened steel, enabling it to resist a -great number of flexions, while the driver may for its part be made of highly tempered steel, thus avoiding any danger of twisting.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been described, many modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

Having now described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

In a stapling machine, a staple-guide rail having an upper transverse wall and two side walls between which the staples are guided, first lugs constituted by extended portions of said side walls and disposed in a first plane which is substantially perpendicular to said rail and -is in spaced relation to one end of said upper wall, apertured projections on said transverse wall, a plate having integral second lugs which are spaced from said first lugs, said plate having apertures in which are engaged said apertured projections, a staple driver mounted between and slidably guided by said first lugs and said second lugs for sliding motion in a second plane which is substantially perpendicular to yand is disposed transversely of said rail for removing the staples one by one from said rail and driving them into the material to be stapled, means for urging the staples along said rail toward said second plane, said driver having a rst aperture and a second aperture and said plate having a projection which extends into said rst aperture of the driver with play between said driver and said projection in the vertical direction to permit said sliding motion of said driver to a limited extent, a double-limbed hairpin-shaped spring of which yone limb freely extends into said second aperture of said driver and biases the latter upwardly whereas the other limb is engaged in said apertured projections and retains said plate on said transverse wall, and

`a pressure-applying member pivotably mounted relative to said rail for applying stapling pressure directly on said driver when stapling.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,240,911 Polzer May 6, 1941 2,279,584 Vogel Apr. 14, 1942 2,343,932 Ruskin Mar. 14, 1944 2,670,468 Marano Mar. 2, 1954 2,717,382 Ruskin Sept. 13, 1955 

